These ripened really fast…First one I tasted was ok, not quite sweet enough for me…
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They appear to be Orinoco, marketed to growers as cold hardy but not particularly sweet.
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Good to know. We get several freezes per year, so that would explain why the previous homeowner chose to plant them
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and it’s flowering again…same tree. didn’t know that was possible. With colder weather not that far away this one definitely won’t make it…
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It’s not the same tree. It’s a “pup” from the corm of the mother plant.
interesting, I didn’t know that…This is by far the largest banana tree I’ve had, guessing it’s over 20 ft…
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They’re not trees, they are bulbs. 
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Good read…Thanks @Richard… I’ll be sure to refer to them as “bulbs” henceforth…
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If you’re growing burro bananas (Orinoco) they are really good for cooking they fry really well. When they are green you can boil them and make “green figs” you boil them once to make the skin easy to remove and then you boil them like potatoes in salted water. They taste like potato when you cook them that way. They are a good starchy banana, just not super sweet.
What makes it a mutant ?
I’ve no motivation to grow wretched Orinoco bananas. They are terrible for fresh eating, and when fried as you suggest adds unwanted fats of questionable form to the diet. I’m sticking to dessert bananas that perform well in my location.
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@snarfing
It initially did not perform true to type. The latest generation seems closer to target. We shall see.
I’m with you on that opinion, I am just giving people the information if that’s the only variety that they can find. I much prefer Saba for a good cooking/ fresh eating banana but the size (pseudo stem can reach 25’ before the leaves start and the trunk back can be over 3’ in diameter)prevents many people from growing it if they have to bring it inside.
Thank you for all your time in gathering the information and experience growing tropical fruits in socal.
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There are about 2 dozen seedless edible Musa cultivars available by mail order as corms or TCs within the continental USA. Many are only viable in southern FL or a greenhouse.
Here in northern San Diego county, Saba is too tall for a greenhouse enclosure with a 40’ roof.
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Yes sir, and your information will help prevent people from having to suffer with low quality bananas like Orinoco and store bought cavendish.
My experience is in the tropics and near tropics so your work and effort is helping me with growing bananas at my high elevation farm here in Hawaii. If all goes well with my bananas next year I’ll be harvesting apples and bananas from the same property, because I like to eat, eat, eat apples and bananas lol.
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In addition to the boat-ripened cavendishes, local markets here also carry Manzano fruits, member of the Silk AAB group.
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Mine have manzano, “thai”, burro, red. The red is the 3rd most common after Cavendish and manzano. That after that burro
Then I actually found hua moa at an Indian grocery randomly.
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Very interesting that you two are so unimpressed with Orinoco. While I wouldn’t call it my favorite I still quite like the bananas I get from my Dwarf Orinoco. When fully ripe they are plenty sweet and certainly taste much better than grocery store Cavendish to me. I wonder if the climatic conditions where it is grown contributes to differing quality of fruit.
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Huamoa is a great banana